February 09, 2018

Tamanaha on the Functions of the Rule of Law

Brian Z. Tamanaha (Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law) has posted Functions of the Rule of Law (Martin Loughlin and Jens Meierhenrich, eds., The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law (CUP, 2018 Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This concise essay examines multiple manifest and latent functions of the rule of law. The rule of law is characterized as a society in which government officials and the populace are generally bound by and abide law. The functions covered include: personal and collective security and trust; integration of society; legal restrictions on officials; liberty and guiding conduct; economic development; a pivotal place for legal professionals; entrenching power structures; normative commitment and critical standard; and rhetoric. The discussion raises core issues about each function.